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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Frankie Still Say A Lot..., October 15, 2001
Frankie Goes To Hollywood was one of the very best bands of the 1980s. The band only released a couple of albums, then it split... but its music still lives on, or rather has been revived with a BANG! release, and this is well-deserved. So even though Frankie Say... No More, Frankie still say a lot!This compilation contains the best track of the outstanding concept album 'Welcome To The Pleasuredome', such as the debut hit single 'Relax' (regarded controversial back then!), the absolutely great 'Two Tribes', the breathtakingly beautiful ballad 'The Power Of Love', and an interesting and varied version of 'Ferry Cross The Mersey'. Plus stuff from the less impressive 'Liverpool' album, like 'Rage Hard', but sadly not including the wonderful 'Is Anybody Out There?'. The listener also has to live with more mediocre songs like 'Warriors Of The Wasteland' or 'For Heaven's Sake'; both unmistakably Frankie but not really top quality. Still, as a whole, this compilation album makes you rock and think about the rocking 1980s. It's a great memory. The CD booklet which accompanies the compilation is also very interesting: Frankie's history and nice pictures.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Hoo! Hah! Hoo Hah!, April 2, 2007
Frankie Goes To Hollywood was possibly the ultimate in created new wave bands. They made a huge controversial splash, charted one of the most successful singles in the history of the UK and flaunted their homosexuality so blatantly that the Village People would have been proud. "Welcome to the Pleasuredome" was one of the biggest selling double albums in Europe. "Frankie Say..." T-Shirts were everywhere. Brian DePalma directed their video. Then suddenly, it was over. Their second album, "Liverpool," sank like a rock, and the two major figures (Holly Johnson and Paul Rutherford) in the group embarked on minor solo careers. Even so, FGTH meteoric rise and just as rapid fall is marked by songs that still sound as anthemic and ridiculously over the top as they did in 1984-86. They even managed to capture a classic song, in the hedonist anthem "Relax."
That is what "Bang" captures. Thirteen songs are split nine from "Pleasuredome" and four from "Liverpool," each with Trevor Horn's kitchen sink productions and Holly Johnson's drama queen vocals. Horn, who had just started his ZTT label, had learned his lessons with Yes quite well. Both "Relax" and "Two Tribes" were huge sounding records that still have that grandiose distinctiveness of both progressive rock and Hi-NRG dance music. There was nothing else like them, and coupled with the hyper-aggressive marketing, nothing could resist their sonic onslaught.
Once you get past those two signature songs, it is amazing what Frankie had left to say. Granted, the lyrics were sometimes beyond bizarre ("here comes a supernova, what a push-over!"), but the ferocity of "Rage Hard" and the sheer sexuality of "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" do offer proof that the group did have a bit more to them than Horn and hype. The same can not necessarily be said of the band's choice of cover songs. While "Ferry Cross The Mersey" is lightweight enough that it sounds fine in the band's version (and I once read an interview where Gerry Marsden expressed his gratitude to FGTH for making it the B-Side to "Relax," making him an almost instant million in royalties), the decision to cover "Born To Run" seems more like an ego-disaster. Weird thing is FGTH still rock the crap outta the thing, even if Springsteen probably didn't lose any sleep over these guys nicking his signature song. As for Edwin Starr's "War," I always found it interesting that Springsteen covered it and released it as s single later on. Life can be funny that way.
That said, the thirteen songs here sound wonderful even now. The comic-book politics of "Two Tribes" (remember the great video of Ronald Reagan Vs Konstantin Chernenko?) and the uber-gay sexual pronouncements of "Relax" make you almost long for music that was happy to not play it safe, even if it meant your career was going to flame out.
PS. One small gripe. "Bang" has almost nothing by way of liner notes, even with the multifold graphics inlay card. it would have been nice to have a little perspective on the band from someone, maybe a member of even Trevor Horn.
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